A Research About Legal System Of Foundation

Since its naissance, foundation is developed into different models in different countries, thus the definition of the term"Foundation"shall be different. The definition from《International Fund Guide》is a relatively more authoritative one: Foundation is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization, which has its own funds and is managed by its own trustee or board of directors, and is designed to self-education, charity, religious and other social welfare undertakings. In United States, where foundation is at a relatively more mature state, the Foundation Center defines this term as a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that has free funds (usually from an individual, family or company) and managed by board of directors. The objective is to support or aid educational, social, charitable, religious, and other social welfare activities, mainly by sponsoring other not-for-profit organizations. Although there hasn't been a unified definition, the historical mission of public welfare of foundation is been followed without exception. With public welfare as starting point, charity as the charter, public livelihood as core mission, foundation, as one of the most important representatives of non-governmental organizations, its existence is functional. The operation of a foundation shall, in a"what is taken from people is used in the interest of the people"model, actively participate in the role of maintaining social order.This paper is composed of three parts: introduction, main body which contains four chapters, and conclusion. The first chapter is an analysis of the legal definition of foundation. First of all, by analyzing the basic content of the term foundation, I summarized the basic characteristics of foundation as an organization. Secondly, with a contrast of the domestic foundation categories with that of other countries, we can see the uniqueness of our domestic classification of foundation. At last, there is a summary of the contributions foundation has made to the development of our society by a discussion of the social functionality of foundation.The second chapter analyzes the current status of legal system for foundation. With a retrospection of the domestic legislative history and analysis of current situation of foundation, I found the legal gaps and loopholes of statutes governing foundation operation, as well as the institutional defect of foundations caused by a lack of statutes. By a deep analysis of its origin, I also gave suggestion in solving this defect.The third chapter argues the interior relationship of domestic foundations. By breaking down the legal relationship of foundations to its basic components, I proved the ownership of foundation assets, and came to the conclusion that foundation assets is not completely owned by any interior entity. Finally, there is a detailed analysis of the rights and duties of foundation interest owners, which serves the following argument.The last chapter is the key and conclusive chapter of this paper, which addresses the management and supervision of foundation. Through expatiation of the rights and duties of departments of foundation, I analyzed the problems existing and thus gave suggestion regarding the operation of the Board of Directors and Board of Supervisors. Secondly, the importance of external oversea of foundation is proved and thus demonstrated the necessity of establishing exterior supervision system, and suggestion regarding improvement of external supervision of foundation is given as well.